Campbell said she loved nursing but had to give it up after injuring her back, then developing eczema and finally contracting measles.<\/p>\n
She found work as a machinist in a clothing factory but, with an adventurous spirit, she decided to see the world, taking the six-week boat ride to the UK at the age of 28.<\/p>\n
Campbell said she had a lovely time in the UK, where there were plenty of New Zealanders who all acted like family.<\/p>\n
Pania Campbell-Simpkin (from left) says the extraordinary life of her mother Edna Campbell includes cleaning for Jimi Hendrix. Photo \/ Denise Piper<\/p>\n
Her varied work included welding aircraft panels<\/a>, childminding and working as a chambermaid for accommodation providers.<\/p>\n It was while working as a chambermaid in London that Campbell met world-renowned guitar legend Jimi Hendrix<\/a>, cleaning his room during his extensive stay at a bed and breakfast.<\/p>\n Campbell remembered Hendrix as softly spoken and polite, with plenty of guitars and a lovely girlfriend.<\/p>\n Despite being at the height of his fame<\/a>, he shunned the publicity, Campbell said. <\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t until years later, when Campbell-Simpkin was watching a documentary about Jimi Hendrix, that Campbell realised the fame of the guitar legend, rated the best in the world.<\/p>\n \u201cHe was a very nice person and nothing like the press said,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Campbell\u2019s overseas adventures continued with work childminding in Austria.<\/p>\n She married in the UK and had Pania there, with the family moving back to New Zealand in 1974, when Pania was 4.<\/p>\n Because of her husband\u2019s Government job, the family shifted around the North Island, moving towns every couple of years.<\/p>\n Campbell found joy in sports \u2013 including fencing, scuba diving<\/a> and wood chopping \u2013 plus was a talented painter and writer, her daughter said.<\/p>\n She also spent decades volunteering for Bibles in Schools, inspired by the teachings she received as a child, continuing the work into her 80s.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was very nice: I loved teaching the children the Bible,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In 2017, Campbell-Simpkin started working with Radius Care in Northland, moving her mother into the same village to ensure her good care<\/a>.<\/p>\n While Campbell-Simpkin has moved around Northland and had a career break, the two remained close, she said.<\/p>\n Now, Campbell-Simpkin and her three-legged dog Gizmo travel from Dargaville to Potter Home in Whang\u0101rei each day, with the rest home like a big family<\/a>, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cNow approaching her 92nd year, Edna\u2019s life is a beautiful reminder that ordinary people can have the most extraordinary stories,\u201d Campbell-Simpkin said.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom a small farm in Northland, to cycling miles to care for her community, travelling across the world, unknowingly working for a music legend, meeting famous people and giving so much back to others, Edna\u2019s journey has been nothing short of remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\nEdna Campbell says Jimi Hendrix was a very nice man who shunned publicity.<\/p>\n
Edna Campbell worked as a nurse (left) plus used to scuba dive for a feed.<\/p>\n
Edna Campbell goes on a flight on a two-seater plane, as a present from her daughter for her 89th birthday.<\/p>\n